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Gods of The Game #1

Audible audiobook 

Author: Ana Huang

Narrators: Stella Hunter and Shane East

If you have been reading Ana Huang, you’ve met Asher Donovan, as he’s been giving Sloane, the publicist extraordinaire, her first gray hairs with his antics. He’s a living legend, the star of the Premier League and a royal pain in the ass. His recent trade to Blackcastle and his feud with his new captain are causing trouble. The feud even even cost them a championship. Now, the coach is forcing them to bond with an unorthodox off-season training regimen: ballet lessons. To make things even more complicated, their trainer will be Scarlett DuBois, his nemesis’ sister and a girl he had unknowingly met and can’t stop thinking about.

Scarlett’s dancing career was cut short by a terrible car accident. She’s now a teacher at a highly prestigious dance school and she avoids footballers like the plague. Now, she’s having to train Asher alone as her brother had to leave town for an emergency. The dance lessons, the shared moments… they show them they belong together. But there is that feud…

I have been reading/listening to Ana since way before she blew up and I’m a big fan. However, since King of Sloth, I haven’t been wowed as I normally am. The Striker had every element of a good Ana book but it’s just… average.  I saw very little character development in Scarlett (and we have 14 hours in the audiobook, so we had time for that to happen) and Asher is just your standard bad boy with a heart of gold and a traumatic past. Is it a bad book? Heavens, no! But it’s incredibly long considering very few things actually happen. The third act conflict was a little forced and completely unnecessary too. I’ll keep reading her books because I know she can wow me again. 

Narration saved the day here, as it’s wonderfully narrated in duet by Shane East and Stella Hunter. Shane is perfect for the cocky, debonair footballer and Stella rocks a cute British accent. I pressed play and let them entertain me while I did things around the house. They sure made the 14 hours pass quickly. 

Content notes: mentions of car accidents, death of a beloved friend, grief, PTSD